I Am Howling
by Emotional Flight
Summary: Mittens stays in Vegas. Alone in the streets, she howls.
1. Equinox I

**I Am Howling**

 _Mittens stays in Vegas. Alone in the streets, she howls._

* * *

 **Equinox**

* * *

"Go, Bolt."

Mittens spoke those words with as much finality as she could muster. Her head barely raised, she stared at the ground, trying not to meet eyes with the white dog standing in front of her. She saw his paw creep forwards and heard him take in a breath, so she spoke up before he could reply.

"Just go."

The paw scraped back out of her vision. Her eyes scrunched closed, and she stood, listening to the slow padding of pawsteps crunching against the dirt and sands. Wind whipped around the dunes of trash, her fur rustling.

"You take care, Mittens."

Her ears flicked unconsciously at the voice before settling again. As the steps faded away, she looked up. A white spot glimmering in the morning sun paused for a moment, then disappeared over the pile ahead. She stared out over the dune, dirt soft underneath her feet. Then, she turned and walked away.

For some reason, her cheeks were wet.

* * *

Mittens sat, staring trashcan lid in front of her. She batted at it with one paw, and a rattle echoed down the alley. There was a stirring, and behind her she heard a crunch as plastic met concrete. A ball rolled into view, the brown animal inside groaning something about last night's dinner. She looked over at the hamster.

She decided to speak. "Good morning." _No it wasn't._

"Good morning, Cat." He rubbed at his eyes, yawning. His nose flared, and eyes darted about. "Where's Bolt?"

"He's… gone." _He's not with you. He's certainly not with me._ She turned her head slightly, dipping down to stare at the plate she had put together, food covering its surface.

"He left?" Rhino was shocked.

Mittens wasn't.

"Yeah." She turned back to look at him. "But he instructed me to tell you that… he had to face the green eyed man alone."

Rhino stared out into space for a moment. There was a stillness, then he turned and his ball started to roll away. The sunlight glinted off the ball.

She was surprised for a moment, then slumped. Of course he would go too.

No use in pretending otherwise.

The ball turned the corner, and the sound of Rhino's rolling disappeared into the sounds of the city, gleam of sunlight disappearing around the corner.

She sat.

Above her, the sky turned pink, and the sun disappeared behind the horizon.

* * *

Mittens' tail curled around her paws, the noise of the casino below her roaring with raucous laughter, clinks, and music. She watched as the crowds shifted and mulled about under the neon lights, playing the slot machines and betting their chips on the long odds. The rooftop rumbled with the beat of the music beneath her paws. The smell of fresh food wafted up to her, and her stomach growled, letting its protest to her fast known. She ignored it.

" _Mittens... I can't stay here."_

The building across from her crashed open, and several men walked out, drunk and laughing. They strolled down the street, hanging off of the lightposts and joking with each other. Their voices carried over the rest of the night scene, ridiculous statements mixing in with the lively atmosphere of the street. She wished she knew how to get drunk.

" _Penny's not like that."_

The moon filled the sky, the stars hiding behind the pallor of the lights shining out of the city. The wind on the roof top blew the pebbles back and forth, scattering the gravel around her paws. She didn't care.

" _You take care, Mittens."_

She closed her eyes and stood. The casino did nothing but remind her of her mistakes. After all, she had tossed the chips, and staked it all on that moment. Then it had all come crashing down.

Under the lights, she tilted up her head.

She howled.


	2. Equinox II

**At The Moon**

 _Bolt runs from Penny. Alone on a cliff, he howls._

* * *

 **Equinox**

* * *

Bolt hopped down off of the sofa, paws hitting the dirt of California for the first time in almost two weeks. He walked over to the fence, head poking between the slats to look down at the buildings poking up out of the landscape.

He couldn't help but grin. "Penny."

It had been a long, exhausting journey. The earth was a huge place, and he had gone from one side of the map to the other. He hadn't been alone, but… they were gone now.

He wished Mittens was here.

" _She's an actress, Bolt!"_

She… hadn't been happy with him.

No, that was an understatement. She had been _disappointed._

Bolt hadn't known what to do with that. He had never had to deal with disappointment. His interactions with others had consisted of making them fall over in pain, heroic banter, and Mittens. She was kind of an enigma.

Honestly, he wasn't sure why she was so disappointed in the first place. He had made it perfectly clear where they were going. Sure, he hadn't talked about Penny as much more recently, but she was still there, in the back of his mind. Mittens had just sat him down, offered him a box, and expected him to stay.

" _It's what they do, Bolt! They act like they love you, they act like they'll be there forever, and then one day they pack up all their stuff and move away, and take their love with them!"_

There was a logic in what she said. She was there, Penny wasn't. But his person was the one constant that had been in his life, and he was going to find her no matter what Mittens said.

She would still love him.

He knew it.

He turned away from the fence and began to run.

* * *

It was a huge building.

Sure, it wasn't nearly as tall as those other buildings he saw at the first waffle, but it stood impressively long and wide in its own right. In theory, the inside held what had been his entire world up to that point, so he wasn't exactly surprised, but at the same time he wasn't expecting it to be so massive.

As he crept closer past several guards, he couldn't help but notice their uniforms were the same as Calico's minions. He wondered if they had electric shocks in their gloves, or if that was another trick that they employed.

He pushed his way through the nearby door, hinges creaking as he slipped inside. His eyes locked onto the trailer and he raced over, jumping over the step and landing inside. Penny wasn't there.

He turned and pushed back outside, ears perking. Voices echoed from the other side of the building, and he began to trot in the direction of the noises. He turned the corner.

There she was!

His tail began to wag, paws beating in a staccato rhythm.

"Bolt! Here boy!" Penny called out, beckoning.

Bolt smiled. She was here! He ran faster, heart thumping.

"Come here!" Her hand reached towards him.

He was almost there-

A white blur burst out from the box he was running by.

Bolt stopped, claws scraping against the ground.

There was another dog in Penny's arms.

He tried to reconcile the image with his own expectations. It didn't work.

" _She's an actress, Bolt!"_

Mittens… she hadn't been… and…

She had moved on. Penny didn't want him any more.

"You're my good boy."

She had replaced him.

He stood for a moment, whimpering.

He turned.

He fled.

Inside, he broke.

* * *

He didn't know what was real anymore.

He stood on the edge, perched on a rise with naught but a cliff before him. He drooped, his figure a white splash over the darkening horizon. He glanced down and out, over the glowing city.

" _It's what they do, Bolt!"_

Cars rushed by behind him, curling up the hill before turning into the distance. They drove towards the sun, the sole light in the landscape, as it burnt out for the day in a glow of pink.

" _You're my good boy!"_

There was nothing for him here. He had walked - and ridden and run and flew - and at the end of his long journey he met with the one foe he didn't know how to beat...

 _Disappointment._

The sun went down.

Under the moon, he tilted up his head.

He howled.


End file.
